The da Vinci Machines Exhibition

Fans of Leonardo da Vinci have an opportunity to check out a unique exhibition of his machines.

Fans of Leonardo da Vinci flying on cheap flights to Adelaide will still be able to catch a fantastic exhibition of the Italian polymath’s machines, which have been brought to life.

The exhibition, which is currently on loan from Italy, was conceived as a way of conjecturing the physical reality of da Vinci’s intricate and detailed designs.

Using the artist’s work as blueprints – instructions even – artisans in Florence painstakingly developed the Italian artist’s ideas and ‘made them real’.

Some of the machines include large-scale pieces like a bicycle, tank and air-screw, as well as smaller but nonetheless amazing inventions like ball bearings and cam hammers.

In what will excite fans, there is a decided lack of ‘don’t touch’ signs at the exhibition – it is intended to be as interactive as possible.

People can take part in, for example, a group activity where participants attempt to build an arched bridge he designed.

Da Vinci was born in 1452. Much more than an artist his ideas and designs as a scientist and engineer had him coming up with ideas that were way ahead of his time.

Written by Erin Marshall